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[ Nothing but static fills the screen, a visible crack cutting through the screen, distorting the image even further. However, the audio function seems to be in working order all that's heard in the background are the wails of something obviously not human and the sounds of hitting, slicing through flesh. And in the midst of the mixture of sounds
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He's never felt this way before. Even before he lost his heart, even when Isa told him to run, even when he went to his house and found no parents, just bloodstains. It was nothing compared to seeing not one, but two of his closest friends die.
He should have been there. It should have been him. His life was worthless and empty, why did it have to be them?! Take him instead!
But he's not going down without a fight, no. He's going to take out every single goddamn one of these bastards with him. Everything would die, and there would be nothing left but ash. He can feel his existence burning away with each second, and he embraces it. The tips of his fingers, the ends of his toes... flaking away into ash. After all, what worth did his life have without them? Would Xion go, too?
And he would be all alone.
But that isn't how it goes down. From nowhere, a huge splash of cold water covers him, douses him, puts out (most) of the flames that he'd conjured around himself, but not the ones burning out of control around him. He turns, eyes full of.... nothing. Nothing was there. He turns to look at who had stopped him. Parts of him, on both face and coat, are charred black and cracked, and the cracks glowed like embers with the fire inside. Coals that needed only a wind to reignite (needed only the Wind)
When he lets out a breath, smoke and embers pour out of his lungs]
...A...qua...
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'Why am I always the one left standing?'
She wants to break down, too─was the one who made far too many mistakes to ever take back what she did... what she failed to do. How different would it have all turned out, had she taken the time to show her confidence in her friends? How different would it have been if she had rushed to Roxas' aide the first day instead of wishing him well?
Her own sorrow was far too evident in the way her shoulders were slumped even as she continued to prepare for a second shotlock blast. The initial wave may not have put out all the flames, but another one was coming as the first plowed through another block. ...Whoops.]
Please... Just stop. You need to calm down. Roxas wouldn't- [Pause, a breath that made it all too apparent just how much grief and loss she was feeling for two of her charges as she ripped the helmet off her head and impaled a wraith with it before sending it flying with a blast of light.]
...They wouldn't want to see you like this.
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Their destruction is rampant, but at least it's doing something; all the monsters in a large radius are dead, and none dare come close to the raging flames.
But the mention of Roxas' name completely reduces the Nobody to an emotional wreck. Somehow. Despite his lack of a heart, he was hurting. So much it hurt... Here he was, overwhelmed with powerful memories of feelings, with no Heart to help him mediate them. He drops his weapons with a clatter, sinking to his knees and putting a hand over his face.
Tears. Something Nobodies shouldn't even be able to produce, but there they were. The glowing cracks on his body flicker with every shudder and sob]
Why... why them? Why not me? ... Why wasn't I there to protect them? It should have been me... It should have been me.
[the fires around him die down a little, only running on their own energy now. Axel paws at his eyes]
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Magical mines now litter where fire once took hold as she approaches, dropping down next to him and resting a hand on his shoulder. She was permitted this much, right─to whisper a curative spell to close those cracks in his skin? To ease the physical agony he must have inflicted on himself to match the emotional that he can't quite feel... 'Heal...' The tears are still flowing from her face too, but she swore a long time ago that she would be emotionally strong for her friends. Even if it's the hardest thing she's ever done, she'll do her best.]
I don't- Don't think like that. ['Stop echoing mine...' She's quiet a moment, shoulders shaking in the silent sobs that are forbidden from escaping her lips. She wants to scream, to yell at the top of her lungs to somehow let this pain go away, but she can't. First her Master─no, father─and now one of her best friends and a student.]
... You... we can't be everywhere at once.
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The physical pain of the flames clawing their way out of his broken body was nothing compared to the emotional pain. It was me... It's my fault.... I wasn't there.... I couldn't even save one of them. Without meaning to, he's broadcasting his unchecked despair over the Teneka like a dark wave. Roxas, Ven, Xion, Sora... they gave him a gift that was souring now. His Psuedo-Heart from his time spent in proximity to such strong Hearts was violently emotional, but lacked the finesse of a true Heart. He hadn't had practice with emotions for years. It was no surprise that they were overwhelming him. The tingling, cooling sensation that occurs as the cracks close doesn't seem to get his attention. He's looking down at his gloved hands. The glowing cracks close up and the charred cloth and flesh fall away, revealing healed skin beneath. His inner fire was quelled, for now, but the tears ran unchecked.]
I should have been... I should have been with Roxas, at least. He's my best friend. He's my partner! [he beats his fist against the scorched ground, sending out more cracks of magma] I should have at least saved one of them! And now... I have no idea where Xion is. What if she's hurt too? I'd have failed everyone....
[he shouldn't have let them out of his sights. They should have all stuck together. Instead they let themselves get cocky, confident... now two of them were dead. They had broken the most important rule they had learned in the Organization. Never go into an unknown situation by yourself.]
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Roxas!
[It's a scream, the kind ripped from the innermost core of a person, the kind that is the sound of a heart tearing -- Xion doesn't mean for it to happen, but with the TENEKA, she can't even begin to hold it in. She's fighting, fighting, protecting herself and protecting Paru, but the tears are coming anyway and blurring her vision and sobs are making it hard to breathe but she can't stop fighting but Roxas --
Paru's probably going to make fun of her later. No heart, huh? But Xion told her that before she knew -- before she found out the truth about herself, before Axel told her everything, and she doesn't care, nothing matters any more, except now everything matters because Roxas is going to come back and Paru is still in danger and she has to protect the precious friends who are still alive --
Fire. Not far away, a pillar of fire explodes into the sky.]
Axel!
[After everything that's happened, she can only imagine -- if she feels this way, then Axel -- ]
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I have to go on!
[Her Keyblade becomes a tall bar of light and she darts around the battlefield, slicing through the monsters over and over and over until there was a wide empty circle around herself and Paru. Xion takes a moment to catch her breath, but only a brief one -- then, she's moving again, reaching for the zipper of her Organization coat and pulling on it.]
I have to go to Axel, [she explains quickly to Paru. As she undresses, she casts a couple of Cure spells on herself.] He needs me. But I can't just leave you behind. So we're going to use a corridor of darkness and you're gonna wear my coat, okay? It'll protect you. I'll be okay. But we need to go right now, so -- here.
[Xion's coat is off, now, and underneath she's wearing a simple black shirt and black pants that are tucked into her (black) heeled boots. She tosses it around Paru's shoulders, grabs her hand, and starts running. The corridor of darkness opens up around them.]
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She's clinging tightly to Paru's hand. At least she isn't alone. This city has brought her to so many different people, and she's made more friends than she ever would have back home, and she doesn't regret coming here because she had a chance to meet everyone. Paru. Jack. Rapunzel. Ichigo. Shiro. Rukia. Kelly. Ventus. Terra. Aqua. Sora. Roxas. Axel --
M͝y fŗie̛n͟d͝s ̸ar̛e ̷my ͡power!̀
She sees, at the end of the darkness, light.
When she leads Paru out of the corridor, she finds herself staring at Axel, soaked, and Aqua. At the sight of their tears, her own start again.]
A... Axel...
[Her hands fall slack, so Paru's slides out of hers, and then she's running to hug him.]
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He was hurting - they both were, and there was little she could do to ease the pain. It isn't your fault. Stop beating yourself up. It won't help the others if you permit despair and anguish any quarter in your being. Her own thoughts are now mirroring her Master's, and she doesn't really care. It's what she believed in all this time, and while she can't very well heed by the familiar words right now, the truth is all she can give. They have to keep going, somehow. Words echo through her mind as she gives a faint nod; all she can do, really. It sucks. She hates this place. At least in the Realm of Darkness, she wouldn't have to let anyone else see her cry. ...What is she thinking?]
Ven is a brother to me. but I... I let him go off on his own, even when I knew he wasn't doing that well. [Stupid... this was so stupid...] Xion's a strong girl, Axel... I've been teaching her what I know. She can-
[Speak of the replica, and she appears with someone she hadn't yet met in person, but knew the face.] Xion... Paru. [She wipes the tears from her face, or at least tries to in this case. Silly gauntlets. They were going to rust if this kept up...] Thank goodness...
[Another two casualties weren't added to the list.]
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This place was our second chance, Aqua. And I let it... [ he tightens his hand into a fist] ... I let it slip away. I should have stayed with him. I should have been there... Xion... you better be ok.
[The opening of a Corridor catches his attention, and Axel looks over with teary eyes. Could it be...? Were his eye playing tricks on him? He knew that some of these damn monsters called hallucinations... but Aqua saw her, too. And then, he felt her, wrapping her arms around him. At first, he's stunned. Not sure if this is real... no. It has to be]
X... Xion... You're alive...!
[reciprocating the hug now. Axel is on his knees, so he can easily bury his face in Xion's middle, wrapping his arms around her tightly] Xion!! You're ok!! Thank the Light. Dammit... Xion... Roxas is... he's...
[an unintentional recall of Roxas' final moments broadcast over Teneka before Axel can stop the thought]
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[It's all her mind can let slip before she backs off, letting Xion and Axel have their moment. This was generally reserved for best of friends, and now that Xion was here... well, Aqua didn't fit into this picture aside from losing one of her friends as well. Her heart went out to the both of them, it really did, but inside she could feel a tug away - to where another needed her help. Terra had to have felt it too, and he wasn't here...
But it doesn't seem like she can just leave these three the way they are, now.] Terra... Ven...
[It's all she can think about, and it scares her. This is the third time she's failed them, the third time she's watched them lose to their fates and been unable to stop it. It's like someone tore out a part of the light in her heart again. 'Why... Why can't I ever save them?'
She bows her head, clenching the Wayfinder tightly in her grasp. They didn't need to know her pain when they were already suffering so greatly.]
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Axel clings to the small girl, one hand on her back and the other in her hair.
It wasn't fair. It wasn't fucking fair. That one decision led to their friends dying. How, how could this have happened? He sobs into her shirt, probably getting it all wet with tears and snot, but crying was never a pretty thing. He apologizes, almost too quietly to even hear. Then he just breathes, shoulders rising and falling, before picking himself up off the ground.
He pushes Xion into him, holding her close]
I'm sorry. I'm sorry I wasn't there to protect him... I should have been. I should have... [he shakes his head] .... I'm so glad you're ok, Xion. Really glad. Actually glad. [She of all people should know how important this moment was. Emotions, real emotions. His sadness over losing Roxas, the guilt... but his joy and thankfulness that Xion has not suffered the same fate.
All was not lost yet...
He turns, barely looking at Aqua from under disheveled hair]
Aqua. Are you going to find Terra?
[We're coming with you. Look what splitting up got us before.]
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It's going to be okay. [This is something that needs to be said.] Everything is going to be okay. Roxas will come back... and Ven will, too. No one dies for real here. So... it's going to be okay.
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She only hopes that they hadn't messed it up by not being there when she so desperately needed to be.
Yet she can't help but feel as though there's something important in this moment, between Axel and Xion. True emotions-? Was that why he kept saying he was "actually glad"? The master feels like she missed something in translation, but the next thoughts coming from them make her snap to attention. 'They- They will?' She was never told this, never heard it said before, and it sparks her curiosity. Of course, it was a nightmare right now. Would they really all come back at the ending of it, when the darkness finally gave way?
Aqua doesn't know for sure, but she'll cling to that hope for now. She has to. If Ven and Roxas were gone for good...
Her eyes close to allow her own tears to fall again. It really, really hurts to think about, but she has to keep moving. There's still so many left that need to be protected, so many to gather together again before another star blinks out. It's only then, when she opens her eyes that she realizes Axel's gaze is on her. Aqua nods.]
Yes. [She can't really leave him alone for a second, can she? And with his inner Darkness... Light above, is she seeking that familiar Heart.] I have to. I can't live with myself if he falls, too.
[I won't let any of you out of my sight in this darkness again.]
When we find him, we're going to the Land of Departure. Our magic should be strong enough to seal them out, Xion.
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